How to Become a Medical Transcriptionist Depew NY

Becoming a medical transcriptionist takes dedication and hard work. There are, however, many medical transcription positions that reward that hard work and dedication and many medical transcriptionists end up working at home; some even own their own medical transcription services. Read on to discover how you can become a medical transcriptionist.

The medical transcriptionist transcribes patient information by listening to dictation and then typing the information into a word processing program. Doctors and other healthcare providers routinely create oral records that must then be transcribed and entered into the patient's permanent healthcare file. These records include assessments, doctor-patient interactions, hospital records, diagnosis, prognosis, and tests and procedures the patient may need or may have had.

Medical transcription is much more than a typing job. Medical transcriptionists have to be familiar with medical terminology and medical practices. They also must have excellent English and grammar skills and be proficient with a computer. They have to have good listening skills too; sometimes the dictation they are transcribing from may be from someone for whom English is not their first language and they may have accents to deal with.

Although certification is not required for the medical transcriptionist, like any other field, employers prefer to hire those with education and experience. You could expect to spend anywhere from 9 to 18 months initially in medical transcription training and then you would most likely need to take refresher courses from time to time as the medical field and its policies and procedures continue to evolve.

Medical transcription training is conducted through colleges and vocational schools across the United States. You can take classes online or at a campus location. Although not required, the medical transcription student would be well advised to seek training that has been approved by the ACCP (Approval Committee for Certificate Programs) which has been established by the Association for Healthcare Documentation Integrity (AHDI). Not only will this endorsement assure you are getting quality medical transcription training, but employers may give more weight to students who have been trained through an approved educational program or institution.

Medical transcription training includes training in Pharmacology, Medical Terminology, Anatomy and Physiology, Word Processing, and other computing skills. It may also include courses in Business English and Editing and Proofreading. These courses are often taught by those who have actually worked as medical transcriptionists and then furthered their education in order to teach this field. The program may also include a medical transcription practicum, where students could put their skills to work in a supervised setting. There are also federally approved medical transcription apprenticeship programs about which the AHDI offers more information.

You can easily find medical transcription training online and train in the comfort of your home. You can find courses that supply the equipment you'll need, such as a laptop and a foot pedal, which is used to pause the dictation or you can purchase the equipment yourself. You'll want to be careful when you're searching online for medical transcription training because like anything else listed on the Internet, there are good ads and those that may not deliver all that they promise.

In addition, you can take medical transcription training online through an accredited school and qualify for financial aid, whereas you may have to foot the entire bill yourself if you don't train with an accredited school. Finally, if you do choose a course that offers an equipment option, try to purchase the equipment yourself separately. You may not get the best deal on a laptop purchased as part of a course and you can have a much better selection by purchasing your own outright.

Some medical transcription training courses and schools use the fact that medical transcriptionists can work at home as a big part of their sales pitch. While it is true that a medical transcriptionist can work at home, it may be difficult to find a medical transcription position at home without any experience. Just don't let that be the reason you choose a particular school or a particular course because you may have to work outside of the home as a medical transcriptionist in order to gain the experience required for most at home medical transcription jobs.

The top money making majors vary every year. These majors though most of the times are the hardest to complete, are usually the most rewarding at the end. I just looked up these statistics because I was curious about my major which is economics. Here I will compile a list of the top college majors to make money; I will then list the types of jobs you can get with that major.